Tag: Renault UK Clio Cup

Brands Hatch is set for an enthralling weekend (April 7/8) of wheel-to-wheel, edge-of-the-seat thrills as the TOCA support package blasts into life.

Following months of hype and anticipation, five championships will join the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Kent venue to kickstart their 2018 campaigns.

Serving as the perfect stepping stone for drivers to graduate into the BTCC down the years, the Renault UK Clio Cup boasts another bumper entry list for this year. With champion Mike Bushell moving on to the BTCC, the quest to find a new title holder begins around the Indy circuit and there are no shortage of contenders.

Multiple champion Paul Rivett will be one to watch, as will the ever-impressive Max Coates, who returns for another crack at clinching the coveted crown. Throw into the mix the likes of Lee Pattison, James Dorlin, Mike Epps, Jack McCarthy and James Colburn, to name a few, and you begin to see how competitive this years crop of contenders are.

Two races around the famed Brands Hatch layout will serve as the perfect starting place for what is set to be another enthralling year.

Serving as the first step on the motorsport ladder for aspiring racers, the Ginetta Junior Championship is set to provide plenty of excitement on the opening weekend of the season too.

Having had the likes of Lando Norris, Tom Ingram and many more cut their teeth in the championship down the years, this years crop of youngsters will be hoping to springboard onto great things too.

The 2018 intake of racers sees a blend of familiar and new faces line up on the grid. Ginetta Junior Winter Series champion Adam Smalley tops the entry list, returning for a shot at the outright title, however the likes of Fin Green, Luke Browning and Matt Luff lead the rest of the pack in trying to stop his charge – starting with this weekend’s two encounters.

Action from the Yorkshire brand will also come from the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup, with immense quality running throughout the Pro and Am categories. Setting its stall out as one of the top proving grounds for young racers in the UK, the championship is back once again, with three races set to be run at the season-opener.

Notable names to keep an eye on include Jac Constable, Michael Crees, Jack Minshaw, Carl Boardley and Ginetta Junior graduate Harry King.

A new champion will be crowned in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this year, due to title holder Charlie Eastwood moving on to pastures new. With a new car, new points system and new faces; the battle for supremacy this year is set to provoke serious intrigue.

Runner-up last year, Dino Zamparelli enters the season as an early favourite however he will have a whole host of drivers keen to take the fight to him at the front. Junior Scholarship winner Daniel Harper, George Gamble, Rory Collingbourne, Lewis Plato and Tio Ellinas are just a handful of contenders.

To cap things off, there will also be single seater action from the British F4 Championship. Despite the departure of Carlin, another stacked entry list has been confirmed for the 2018 edition of the popular series.

Arden, Fortec Motorsports, JHR Developments and Sharp Motorsport lead the way to Brands Hatch with the likes of Jack Doohan, Sebastian Priaulx, Ayrton Simmons and Patrik Pasma ones to watch.

The TOCA support package was back in business at Brands Hatch this past weekend (April 7/8) with five championships kicking off their 2018 campaigns.

Once again competing alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, there was high-drama throughout each category as they battled challenging conditions across both days.

In the Renault UK Clio Cup, spoils were shared between two title favourites. Multiple champion Paul Rivett showcased his experience in the opening race of the weekend, only after making contact with Max Coates early on.

Coming off the better of the two, Rivett powered away from the pack to the take a memorable victory. Behind him, the wounded Coates was unable to hold of the advances of James Colburn and Daniel Rowbottom, both of whom rounded out the podium.

Coates was the clear race winner in a wet race two, taking control from the start before storming into a lead he would ultimately never lose. Behind him though the tremendous battle for the remaining rostrum spots were decided as Rivett and youngster Jack McCarthy recovered from early struggles to join Coates in lifting silverware.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB produced two different winners as well, with Dino Zamparelli and George Gamble taking a win apiece. Off the back of clinching pole position, Zamparelli asserted himself as one to watch this year with a dominant display in the curtain-raiser ahead of Tio Ellinas and Lewis Plato.

Plato had been on course to take race two honours until a mistake cost him, handing Gamble top spot on his first weekend in the series. Joining him on the podium was Ellinas and Zamparelli, who left the Kent circuit as championship leader.

The Ginetta Junior Championship delivered its usual mix of thrills ’n’ spills in true style, setting up what is set to be another fascinating campaign.

Last year’s scholarship winner Adam Smalley entered the season as one of the drivers to watch and he backed up his pre-season promise by grabbing the early advantage in the championship standings.

Claiming pole position in qualifying, the Elite Motorsport driver bagged victory in race one ahead of Ruben Del Sarte and Fin Green before then finishing hot on the heels of race two victor Luke Browning.

It is set to be a wide-open year in the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup too with Charlie Ladell cementing his status as an early title favourite. The Rob Boston Racing was in imperious form around the 1.2 mile Indy circuit, taking two wins, with Carl Boardley capping off the weekend with a win of his own.

Rounding out the action in front a bumper trackside crowd was the British F4 Championship, which saw Ayrton Simmons enjoy a near perfect weekend, scoring a brace of wins. Sebastian Priaulx topped the rostrum in the remaining race.

For the full classification of results across all championships, click here.